1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a door locking mechanism for an oven having French-style doors.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Incorporating French-style doors into cooking appliances is well known in the art. An oven employing French-style doors typically includes a linkage system coupled to the doors. The linkage system translates to shift the doors between open and closed positions when either of the doors is operated. While this type of door arrangement does address many shortcomings typically associated with horizontally swinging doors, French-style doors include several shortcomings of their own. For example, proper door sealing to prevent excessive heat loss from the oven cavity is an important concern. In at least arrangements employing doors that interengage when closed, in order for the doors to close and seal properly, one of the doors must lag with respect to the other. In this manner, a proper seal can be maintained about the oven. Moreover, the linkage must hold the doors in the closed position to ensure that hot oven gases do not escape. Other areas of concern include providing a lock or latching mechanism that prevents the doors from being opened, particularly during a self-clean operation.
Certainly latching mechanisms for oven doors, both manual and automatic, are known in the art. In conventional style ovens, automatic latching mechanisms are typically operated by a solenoid or motor that drives a latch into engagement with the oven door. Other forms of latching mechanisms, typically employed with French-style doors, cooperate with the linkage system to prevent the doors from opening While effective, latching mechanisms of this type can be overly complex and are often bulky. Bulky systems are difficult to incorporate into ovens having minimal available space for controls or other hardware.
Based on the above, there exists a need for an automatic latching mechanism for an oven having French-style doors. More specifically, there exists a need for a simple, low profile, automatic latching mechanism that can be incorporated into an oven having French-style doors and minimal available space for controls and other hardware.